Brothers By Blood
by Edward 04612
Summary: After an attempt on his life by a squad of unknown mercenaries, Sonic must discover who wants him dead and why. Is it really Eggman or has someone else joined the list of people who want Sonic dead?


_(A/N: A warning to all who read this- this Sonic fic is much different than many on the site because of it's darker content. I have taken some liberties with modifying existing personalities in order to fit more in with my writing style, and as such chapters may tend to be very violent. This is not your usual light-hearted Sonic fare and is rated M for a reason. Now on with Sonic's journey into madness...)__  
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_Chapter One (1)_

Thomas Gainer was a policeman with the Central City police force in Sweden.1 He always worked the same beat for the past fifteen years. Fifth and Center and the surrounding area were his streets. Over his many years on the police force, he had unfortunately developed a cigarette habit, and even today, had a smoldering butt hanging out of his mouth. Over the years he had spent here, he had seen very strange things on the streets. Bizarre murder cases, stranger robberies. As he paced about upon the damp asphalt in the morning mist, he looked up and down the darkened streets. At this time of morning, the lights were just turning off as the sun came up. However there was always a dark spot in the day around this time. The sun was still hidden behind the hills bordering the city, and the lamps, despite the obvious lack of light, were turned off because the rest of the city could see. Despite this, Fifth and Center streets were always depressingly unlit for around ten minutes each morning. Ironically, Gainer was always happiest during this time. He retrieved a coffee from the local Starbucks and stood on the corner, taking in the atmosphere.

_Not much in this world can beat a solid cup of coffee and damp air in the morning,_ he thought.

The warm coffee mixed with the tobacco residue in his mouth and he swallowed it. He took another drag on his cigarette and looked down the street.

_Am I hearing things? I swear to God I just heard something pop out there._

Whatever it was he thought he heard was brief. He then realized his hand was involuntarily on the SIG Sauer P229 in his belt holster. He lowered his hand away from his pistol and took another sip of coffee.

_Sometimes this street still gives me the jitters._

Then the popping grew more intense. He knew now- it was _gunfire._

------

(Music: Map of the Problematique by Muse)

Sonic the Hedgehog loved the feel of the wind in his hair in the morning. He would usually run all day, looking for whoever needed his help. He wasn't Superman but he had helped out many needy people in his time. But most of the time, he was running for the fun of it, soaking in the air coursing through his blue quills. Today, unfortunately, was not his morning. At speeds approaching that of sound, he blasted down Center Street of Central City, several unidentified mechs with jetpacks hot on his heels. He broke the sound barrier, sending a resounding BANG down the street, and rushed forth, dodging bullet after bullet from the mechanized infantry.

_At least they aren't very good shots._

------

The P229 was cocked and in a Weaver grip as Thomas Gainer looked down the street at the source of the noise. He took cover behind a trashcan on the dark street-corner and readied himself for a firefight. He quickly improvised a prayer-

_My Lord God, master of the universe, please give me strength in my coming trial so that I may go home to my family tonight in peace. Amen._

He set his jaw, lines of age on the forty-two year old standing out as he braced himself against the can. He pulled out the clip and weighed it, then slammed it back in.

------

Sonic was moving too fast now. Windows on the street broke with his mere passing. The mechanized infantry were trying everything in the book- flanking, flying above and shooting, staying in Sonic's wake trail- and thankfully they hadn't hit him. Yet.

------

Gainer chanced a look over the rim of the can down the street towards the noise. His jaw threatened to fall off as he saw Sonic approaching, glass windows shattering and robots shooting in his wake.

_Fifteen years on this beat and I see a delusion. I have got to stop mixing cigarette ash with my coffee._

The hedgehog blasted past Gainer, throwing paper and trash from the street and glass every which way. Some of these various articles of shrapnel cut up Gainer's face, forcing a grunt in pain from him. He fired at the robots perusing Sonic, hitting one in the jetpack and forcing a loss in stability, sending the whole derelict slamming into the center of an intersection down the street. The whole thing went up in a massive explosion, lighting up the morning sky in a giant fireball.

_Hopefully that doesn't come out of my paycheck,_ Gainer thought somewhat candidly as he retreated into a nearby alley. He dropped the cigarette butt on the ground and threw his pack for the day into a dumpster.

_I'm never smoking again._

------

Sonic still blasted forth at a madman's pace, leading the robots through back-alley after back-alley, but they still kept pace.

_Time to make a U-turn,_ he thought as he ran up the side of the building and sprang off to land on an airborne foe. He ripped the gun-arm off the unit and fired it at a second and a third enemy, only for them to increase speed and dodge the bullets. Sonic suddenly noticed the arm he had used was dripping a massive amount of blood from the gun arm and the robot was uttering a mechanical howl unlike anything he had ever heard. The roar ceased and the robot's engine was cutting out and sputtering. The world was slowing down around him as Sonic stared at the blood gushing out and soaking his gloves.

_There was someone in that mech,_ Sonic suddenly realized. He had never killed a human being before. _My God, someone's blood is on my hands._ He then kicked the head off the robot and threw the chassis at another robot, sending both into a giant explosion.

_Why did it feel good doing that? What am I, really?_

He sprang back off another building and landed on a third foe. He broke the neck of the robot, grabbed the rotating barrel of the gatling gun and brought the arm around behind the jetpack of the robot, firing it into the fuel tanks of the jetpack and jumping off as the bot exploded and turned into red mist. Sonic finally lands on _terra firma. _All of the debris started to rain to the ground as time finally caught up with Sonic.

(End music)

He began to run again, taking several back alleys, and then took the freeway out of town.

_I've just killed four men and I feel like I've done a good thing._

Moisture lined Sonic's eyes as he ran off the freeway and into a forest.

_What have I done?_

1 I, the Author, have taken the liberty of using some locations from the Sonic universe and placing them in locations on Earth as I see fit. Sega has not officially designated the location of Central City as being in Sweden, nor do I ever expect them to do so.


End file.
